semester

Exhibition Partners: Block Research Group, ODB Engineering, The Escobedo Group

These two thin-tile vaults were contributions to the Beyond Bending exhibition, commissioned by the 2016 Venice Biennale curator, Alejandro Aravena. They are demonstrations of how compressive geometry can be used to build floor systems with minimal steel and relatively weak material. Compared to conventional concrete slabs, these structures can be far more visually exciting, lower cost, lower weight and have a lower environmental impact. The doubly curved shell was made of traditional ceramic tiles. The barrel vault was made of stabilized, unfired earth bricks, which has up to 70% less material and 90% less embodied CO2 than conventional steel and concrete systems.